Glastonbury 2014: Dolly Parton brings out Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora for surprise duet

The star, 68, played hits such as '9 to 5' and 'I will always love you' to adoring crowd

Dolly Parton and Richie Sambora perform at Glastonbury 2014 (Reuters)

Dolly Parton, garbed in a sparkling white and silver suit and bouffant hair, gave a jovial performance at Glastonbury this afternoon, including a surprise duet with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora.

After astutely commenting that sad songs wouldn’t go down well with an audience that is “drunk and high,” Ms Parton’s uplifting set had a rendition of Bon Jovi classic "Lay Your Hands On Me" before finishing with "I Will Always Love You" – her 1973 song made famous by Whitney Houston.

Fans Accuse Dolly Parton Of Miming

The 68-year-old country and western legend was performing on the Pyramid Stage at the Somerset festival.

A guitar solo by Richie Sambora also delighted the crowds, as Ms Parton repeatedly thanked her adoring fans for “every ticket you ever bought. I appreciate every record you ever bought.”

She said performing at the iconic event was an “honour.”

"I've been waiting a lifetime for this and of course we want all of you to have the best time.

"I know you're here to see a whole load of artists at the festival and we're just glad that you came to see me."

Religious Ms Parton admitted earlier in the set that she was “no saint, that’s for sure,” but that she called on the Lord for help when she needs it. Her comments were part of the intro to "Lay Your Hands On Me".

Just prior to her performance, she was given a gold disc backstage in recognition of her having sold 100million records worldwide.

After being presented with the award by Lauren Laverne, she joked with a press conference that the large framed picture was bigger than her.

The diminutive "9 to 5" singer said that she had struggled trying to decide what to play for her audience.

“It was kind of tricky knowing what to do under a festival situation because in my show as a rule I usually do a couple of hours,” she said of her set that was 70 minutes long.

“This is going to be a big deal and because this is the biggest festival in the world, I even wrote a song about the mud.

“I thought I had to write a song about the Glastonbury mud, even though the sun's shining today.”

Torrential rain and lightning was unfurled on the Worthy Farm site on Friday with showers continuing on into Saturday. Sunday was forecast to be dry for revellers.

“I can't do a bunch of sad songs because everyone is drunk and high,” Ms Parton wisely noted. “I'm just a country girl and now I feel like a rock star,” she added.